I thought I'd take a minute from my life to record what it's like right now. I have a journal that I fill with things of gratitude. I try to put a positive spin on some trials to help me be grateful, but sometimes I don't think it's enough to give an honest idea of what life is really like in this moment. There are lots of things I love, and several that I struggle with or just plain don't like.
What I love about life right now:
1. A darling 11 year old daughter who is turning out to be more helpful then I ever could have imagined. For example (and one that very nearly made me cry), she came in the other night to ask what she could do help with dinner. I had just come home from picking up a few things at the grocery store and hadn't gotten everything put away. I told her she could put the eggs and yogurt away. She did, but while she was down in the depths of the fridge, she also cleaned out all the old food that had reached or past its expiration date. Unasked. Such a simple thing that left me full of gratitude and an increase of love for her.
2. The kids and I can laugh at jokes together. We quote movie lines all the time. We speak with British accents randomly. A few fun(ny) things I never anticipated being part of our fun. (For one, I never even had the nerve to attempt a British accent until a couple of months ago.)
3. Not having to take 4 kids on every single errand I run.
4. Time in my day to read without guilt. Kids at school. Baby napping. Book? Don't mind if I do.
5. Consistent weekly date nights. Partly due to #3. I love date night. I crave it. I need it. Our conversations really aren't much different than at home, but something about having my man all to myself is really nice.
Things I'm not liking:
1. Adjusting to my neighborhood. It's beautiful here. The people are friendly. Yet still I struggle finding a good friend where I'm at. I'm working on it.
2. Learning to parent 4 very different personalities and there little struggles and challenges.
3. The ever constant feeling that I should be doing something, but not really knowing what that something is.
4. Balancing my time. Never been good at it. Family. Husband. Friends. Me. Church. It ends up that nothing is getting the time it needs or deserves.
5. Cleaning the kitchen. I hear this gets easier down the road. That one day I may only need to sweep once a day instead of hourly. (Let's be honest. I count myself lucky when I sweep once a day. :P)
There are lots of things I could add to both lists. Life is good. Life is hard. And the world keep turning and I keep trying.
Cookie Salad
13 years ago
4 comments:
Love this list! Especially number 3 on the don't like list. Me, too! I always feel like I should be doing something, but am never sure what it should be. And then I do a little of lots of things and it ends up looking like I did nothing, although I've been working all day! I need your email address so I can add you to my blog. I made it private. I was writing too much about how hard life is and didn't want people getting the wrong idea.
I think we are all on some list together! Love you, and I know you are doing better than you think Angie! :)
I love the list Angie! I should make one but then I can't even think about it right now - overwhelming. :)
"Keep trying." ♥♥♥
I love this post. It's been a couple years, but I used to write 5 good things and 5 bad things from each day. I think it's important that we remember both. Too often, people only remember the rosy things from the past - they are the ones who tell you to 'enjoy these messy toddler years because they'll be gone too fast' - and they aren't helpful. If they remembered both the good AND the bad, then they could just respect the stage of life that you are in and enjoy the stage of life they are in. Enough of a rant already? :) You're doing great!
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